“What exactly did you see?” she asked, still on edge.

“Versions of you,” I said slowly, not wanting to spook her even more. “A library. Some back and forth about searching through childhood memories.” The whole thing was unexpected to say the least.

She muttered some more to herself, looking away once again. Weighing my options, I decided to push just a little bit. See if I could get even a few answers.

“May I ask,” I proceeded cautiously, “what it was that I found myself in?”

“No, you may not,” she said with a glare. I wanted to fight it. To snatch her up and demand answers because my obsession with her knew no bounds. But she wasn’t in a place to share, and I wasn’t jeopardizing anything. I would learn all about this place in her mind soon enough.

“Understood.” I dipped my chin, making a show of washing my hands of it. “I will let it be.”

She scoffed. “That’s it? You’re just going to magically drop it?”

I nodded. “I just told you we had nothing but time. It’s clear you need it. I’m not pushing this.” I turned to leave her room.

“Wait.” Nathalie sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Yes?”

“I call it my memory loci,” she said reluctantly, wrapping her arms defensively around her body.

“And what purpose does it serve?” I asked, keeping my tone gentle. Well, gentle for me.

“I have an eidetic memory, and that can be overwhelming at times. All the time, really.” She watched me carefully, monitoring my reaction. “I never forget a single thing I see, hear, or experience. I needed a way to organize my thoughts, or I’d go insane. That’s where the memory loci came to exist. This is my way of organizing.”

“And the different versions of you?” I prodded, encouraging her to keep talking. I had Nathalie when it came to her body. She came undone for me in the sweetest ways, but I wanted more. I wanted to know her inside and out and I had a feeling this new discovery was something close to who she was at her core.

And I wanted it.Bad.

She shot me a sharp look. “What about them?”

“Where do they come from?”

“Why? Hoping you can fuck them?”

“Nathalie.” I fixed her with a look. “I’m your familiar—like it or not—and there’s a reason our psyches were close enough to push me into your mind in the first place. Is it such a far reach to be curious about these other versions of you?”

“Maybe that speaks more to how pushy you are than to how close we are.”

I sighed, leveling her with a stare that begged her to be honest.

“Look at me like that all you want. You still didn’t answer my question.”

“I wasn’t thinking about fucking them,” I answered.But I am now.Nope, not going to say that. I could only imagine how poorly that would go. Which is why even if the thought now occurred to me, I wouldn’t be acting on it.

“Fine,” she grumbled, glancing away as she explained. “Each version of me represents a different aspect of my personality. I’m known as the Prime because I’m the main self and the one calling the shots. Ann is the analytical side of me. The Warden is the protector. Peace is the part of me that wants to bury my head in the sand and just live—without taking care of everyone else. Caretaker is her opposite. She’s the nurturer. Bad Nat is the uninhibited one, and . . . that’s it.”

“So, when you disappear into your head, you’re quite literally inside this memory loci, and what? Discussing things with them?” She seemed embarrassed but gave me confirmation with a single nod.

“I know it’s weird that I talk with myself but . . . yeah.”

“I wouldn’t call it weird.” I gave her an appraising look, seeing her more clearly. “I wouldn’t know what having a photographic memory is like, but I have lived for a very long time. Existence like that . . . you have to forget in order to keep moving. I can’t imagine remembering every facet of life in perfect clarity.”

She flashed me an almost grateful look. As I absorbed her words, the pieces clicked together in my mind.

“So, that’s where you go when you stare off into space,” I said, more to myself than to her.

She pressed her lips together, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. “It helps me process everything. But it’s supposed to be private.”